How do cells reproduce?

Introduction to the Lab:

The emphasis of this laboratory period will be on mitosis.

Mitosis is the sequence of events by which the nuclear material of one cell is distributed, by a process involving chromosomes, into two equal parts.

At the right is a longitudinal section through an onion (Allium) root tip. The root tip is responsible for the downward growth of the root and therefore, is one of the regions in the plant where cells are actively dividing and elongating. Because of this, the root tip is an excellent system in which to study the process of cell division (cytokinesis)and nuclear division (mitosis) Furthermore, the chromosomes are fairly large and distinct, and this species has a relatively small number of chromosomes.